Means for converting reciprocatory motion into rotary motion.



APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26.11907.

HIIIIH m 'PATENTED, .FEB. 18, 908.

' W. O. MAYO & J. HOU-LEHA N.

MEANS FOR CONVERTING RBOIPROO-ATOBY MOTION INTOROTARY MOTION.

s SHEBTSSHEET 1.

A TTOR/VE VS.

No. 879,289. PATENTED FEB. 1a, 1903;

- w; o. MAYO & J. HOULEHAN.

MEANS FOR CONVERTING REOIPROGATORY MOTION INTO ROTARY MOTIGN.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26, 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

III!IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'IIIIIIII,

. a A TTOR/VE 1/5 879,289 PATENTED FEB. 18, 1908.

MAYO & J. HOULEHAN.

W. 0. OR CONVERTING REOIPROOATOBY MOTION INTO ROTARY MOTION.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28,1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 following is a specification.

. for use in any machine where it is suitable.

' tion of the piston of the engine is converted into-rotary motion to drive a rotating shaft.

' tion of eziplosive engine practice,

largely in proportionto its power output, we

have devised the means T 0 all whom it may concern:

' and usefulhieans for Converting Reciprocamotioninto rotary motion, or the reverse,

"nessoi the parts for a given power,

- and rope pnrrnn snares TC) GEORGE BRIGGS,

or nAnsrow; TEXAS.

nnniis son oonvn'e'rinennoirnoonronr Morton rn'ro rat-earner MGTIQN,,

No. arenas] Specification of Letters Patent.

1 Patented Feb. 18,1908.

Application filed Jime 26. 1907- Serial No. 380.985.

Be it known that we, WILLIAM C. MAYO and JOHN HOULEHAN, citizens of the United States,residing at El Paso, in the county of El Paso, Statexof Texas, have invented a new tory Motion into Rotary Motion, of which the invention has reference to improve ments m means for, convertlng reciprocatory and is therefore in its broadest aspect adapted However, the invention is more particularly 1 adapted for use w 'ith explosive engines of any suitable type, whereby the reciprocatory moit is the custom todrive the shafts of eX- plosive engines by means of a crank and pitman connection from the reciprocating piston, so that with each complete reciprocathepiston, that is, one movement forward and one movement backward, the shaft makes one complete rotation. However, in it is found that a high piston speed isproductive of economy, both because of high efficiency and the lightbut high shait'speed is oftenundesirable or prohibitive.

Moreover, the present invention is designed for use in and as an integral part of a comlete traction system which we have devised for urban, suburban and interstate railroad trafhc wherein each car is a complete unit in itself and is self-contained as to its power generator, which latter, for reasons which need not be here set forth, is preferably in the form of a multi-cylinder explosive engine of the four-cycle type. Such a power generator may develop u) to one hundred or more horsepower, an t c drive shaft, besides bein quite heavy in itself, will carry certain structures renderin high spec prohibitive. Therefore, in or er to drive the shaft at a comparatively moderate speed within the limits of the structures car- "through an arc oi about slxty degrees, but

nod and driven bysaid shaft, and at the 1 same time to take advantage of the economy of the high piston speed of explosive engines, and to reducethe weight of the engine very forming the subjecttations, while with dent that the invention matter of the present invention, so that the 1 high piston speed may result in a much slower shaft speech Moreover, for the purposes of our general system, it is desirable that the shaft should be straight and unbroken by cranks or such devices, thus, among other things, reducing the liability of breakage of the shaft.

The invention comprises means whereby each stroke of? the piston, whether forward or return, will move the shaft say, onesixth of a revolution, so that siX single reciprocations'ef the piston are necessary to cause one single rotation of the shaft. Vvith the fourcycle type of engine the shaft therefore receives three power impulses during two rothe two-cycle type of engine the shaft receives two power impulses during each rotation. Now, in our system we propose to use a multi-oylinder engine wherein at least four cylinders are active.- Therefore, the shaft, being acted upon. by all four cylinders in proper sequence, w' receive a power impulse for every sixth of a revolution. Furthermore, the structure is such that the power stroke of the pitman acts upon the shaft during the most e'l'hcient por tion of the rotation, and, therefore, the shaft, when a number of cylinders are used, is constantly acted upon at the most efficient part of the rotative movement, and the power losses due to the approach of the pitman toward the dead-center plane are almost en tirely eliminated. It will be understood,

however, that while in the foregoing statements and in the detailed description to follow hereinafter the invention 18 described with reference to a structure whereby six single strokes of the engine piston result in one revolution of the shaft, other relations may be established between the piston speed and the shaft speed. and it is therefore evi-v not confined to the particular speed relation which, for convenience of description, is taken as an example.

The invention in its more limited aspects comprises means whereby the full length of travel of the piston in either direction-will result in a rotative movement of the shaft each rotative movement will be always in the same direction, so that the shaft has impart ed to it progressive rotation- This movement of the shaft is imparted by a structure or p'itinan acting upon what may be "termed a' crank disk, first on one sideof said shaft as the plston moves in one directionand'tnen upon the other side of said shaft as the piston moves in the return direction, the activemovement of thepitman uponithe crank disk being through arcs in the same relation to the shaft, although on opposite sides thereof, but without interference with theshaft,

which extends straight through the crank pitman connection.

i disk and to each side of the same beyond the The"nvention'furthermoreconsists in a form of crank disk whereby two pistons having cylinders-in opposed tandem arrange-.-

-.-,ment may actuponthe same crank shaft. in

proper powersequence under suitablephas displacement.

By the use of two double crank disks and two pairs of engine cylinders and pistons,- each pen in the tandem arrangement ree' ferred to, it will be seen that" if the en ities are of the four-cycle type the shaft will be under power impulses applied so close to the point of maximum efficiency as to closely approach the constancy of application of power to the shaft ofa multi-polar electric motor or a steam turbine. If theexplosive engines are of the two-cycle type the same constancy of application of power will result when the pistons of but two cylinders are with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a section through the crank disk in the longitudinal plane of the shaft, the latter. and certain other parts being shown in elevation; Fig. 3 is a similar section. of a, double crank disk; Figs. 4 to 8, inclusive, .arpartially'diag'rammatic representations of progressive -.hases of operation during one rotation of t e en-' 'gine shaft; Fig. 9 is a partially diagrammatic representation of a crank disk constructed after the manner of the one shown in Fig. 3

Fig. 10is a view of a modified form of crank disk; and Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a.

multi-cylinder engine.

Referring to the drawings, there are shown the cylinder 1 and piston 2 of an explosive engine but no attempt has been made to show any particular type of engine, since the cylinder and piston may be taken as indica tive of any style of engine, whether of the four-cycle or two-cycle, type, and whether designed to use gas, gasolene, oil, alcohol,

a crude oil, distillate, or, in fact, any of the substances employed in engines of the explosive or internal combustion time.

each arc-shaped and joined at their ends to form one continuous triarcal groove, while The'shaft'. a straight unbroken by cranks, and keyed to this s. aft is a disk f1 composed of an outer ring 5, an; inner hub 6, connecting web 7, and interposed flanges edges of the hub, are formed with tongues 9. The disk 4 performs in a manner,

hereinafter appear, the functions of crank.

disk, and, therefore, may be termed a crank disk. The walls of the huband the cor responding walls of the flanges 8 are par- 'allel, and the spaces between these walls constitute grooves- 10. The grooves 10, are

at the points of union the groove is continued radially to form three equi distant radial pockets or extensions 11 into which the tongues- 9 of'the flanges 8.a1-e continued. .The piston2 is provided with a pitman 12, the'free end of which is formed into a fork of two branches 1-314, each terminating in an eye 15 receiving one end of a stud 16, the outer end of which may be 'peened over or upset, as shown at 17. Theother endof'the stud 16 is', formed into a journal extension 18 upon which is mounted a roller 19 hav' its inner end countersunk to receive the heal 20 upon one end of a rod 21 extending cen 95 trally through the stud 16 and receiving 'ex-' .terior to the opposite end of the stud a nut 22. The rod21 where it is joined to the head 20 may be of conical shape, as shown at 23, and be seated in a corresponding 1 o conical-enlar ement the stud 16;

The end 0' the roller adjacent to the eye 15 is formed with a circumferential groove 24, shaped to receive the tongues 9 on the hub 6 and flanges 8. The tongues 9 are pref: 105 erably made slightly tapered, somewhat in the shapeof the U. 8. standard thread, but may-be otherwise shaped if so desired.

In order to assemble the structure the roller's'19 are inserted in the groove 10 at the 1m angle of junction,- since' at this point thefree diameter of the groove is slightly larger than anywhere else in the length of the groove, and 'the size of a cylinder structure which may be inserted at this-point is indicated in 5 Fig. 1 by the dotted line at 26, which dotted line represents the greatest diameter of one of the rollers 19. After these rollers have been inserted with the rods 21 in place the pitman head may be applied so thatjthe 2 journal bearings 18 will enter the rollers and the rods 21 will pass through the studs or stems 16, after which-the nuts 22 1nay be" screwed on to the rods 21 and the rollers be thereby connected to the pitman. -1

. It will be seen that the rollers may along the grooves 10 and into the pee eta' 11 without danger of leavin said grooves becau se of. the tongues9.

I ile the rollers Will from time totini'e pass the spaces in. i3"

their-below the center of the shaft.

man is now acting upon the disk 4 near its again-rests at the read-center.

so gases.

idicated by the dotted line 2 6 at each junction ot the arc shaped gr ov'es, they" .cannot once'asseinblcd. Furthermore, the two'arn s '1314 are of sufficient length to permit the 10 piston to move through the entire length of its travel without t'he base of the fork reacl'iing the shaft- 31 3 I r The operation of the structure thus far dcs'crib'ed \YllbbBCOIllQ apparent ti'oin a con 5' siderationof the'several phases of the operation "shown in diagrammatic manner in 1 FigsYd-tOflS, both inclusive. Let it be assumed that the articular engine under con- 'sideration is of t esingle cylinder, four-cycle 2(j'ty pe',' and let'it be further assumed that in -Fig. 4 anexplosionhas just taken place behind the piston and that the disk 4, as viewed ..in said figure, is rotating clockwise. The i momentum of the disk will carry it by the =5 dead-center in'which the pit nan is shown in said figure and immediately the lower roller 19. will ride:up the'inclined wall on'the furtherside of the pocket 11, forcing the upper I0ll6l. 19 up into the extremity of the corgo-responding pocket 11. The rotative moveinentlofthedisk 4 will continue through an arc of sixty degrees, the lower roller 19 riding along-that portion of the triarcal groove 10 The pitperiphery and at ap roximatelythe most advantageous point or the application of power. When one-sixth of a revolution of the disk 4 has been completed the lower 4o .roller 19 has been brought coincident with --the'-:approacbin -p ocket 1.1 moving clock- .wise along the ower half of the disk. By wthis time .the forward-power stroke of the .-pis ton has been-C0111 let-ed and the pitinan Now the momentum of the disk' carries it past the -dead -center, when the relatively inclined walls of the pockets 11 coincident with the rollers 19 will cause the lower roller to drop into the corresponding )ocket and the upper roller 'to move-outof t e pocket in which .it p was seated during the power stroke. The

continuedrotation of the disk now forces the piston toward the rear of the cylinder on its "5-5 return stroke, while the upper roller-'19 passes along the corresponding arc-shaped portion of the groove 10. In a four-cycle engine this rctur iil s ti ke constitutes the scavenger st'ro'ke iiiiil ifiecs'ih cylinder from the burned Takii'iQ i'lie' point2S of Fig. .4- as the starting point, it will ben'fliced that on the :power 'sir okeit has iidvan'ced'one-sixth oi a revolution. or sixty degrees, as indicated by hundred. and twenty degrees. Now, when the piston again moves forward under the momentum of the ,disk 4 practically no work is performed but the fresh charge is drawn into the cylinder, the pi tman passing through the same path as described with relation to Figs. 4 and 5, while the point 28 has advanced sivty degrees more, or one hundred and eighty degrees from the starting point, as shown in Fig. 7. On the return stroke of the piston, still under the momentum of the disk 4, whereby the charge is compressed, the point 28 is advanced still another sixty degrees, or two hundred and forty degrees from the starting point, as indicated in Fig. 8. The conditions are now the same as first described with relation to Fig. 4, and another power stroke advances the point 28 to a position three hundred degrees from that considered with reference 'to Fig. 4, while the succeeding scavenger stroke completes the first revolution of the shaft.

other revolution of the shaft, it will be found that three power strokes are necessary to cause? two rotations of the engine shaft 3. It will also be observed that the power stroke always acts upon the disk 4 through the upper roller 19 from the position shown in Fig. at to the position shown in Fig. 5 but at a greater radial distance from the shaft, i. 8., in the outer end of the corresponding pocket ,1 1. It will be further observed that the power stroke acts upon the disk 4 through an are extending but thirty degrees to either side of the )lane cutting the axis of the disk perpendicular to the plane of the dead-center of the pitn'ian, and that because of the short length of the are thus described the average leverage exerted upon the shaft 3 during the power stroke very closely approaches the maximum leverage.

Now, considering the structure shown in Fig. 3, it will he observed that on each side oi the web 7 are like grooves 11) but these grooves are displaced with reference to each other by thirty degrees, as indicatcdin Fig. 9, where the groove on the visible face of the disk is indicated in full lines while the groove on the other side of thed-isk is indicated in dotted lines and displaced by thirty degrees from thevisible groove. Let it he assumed tliat'ho th gi'o )vcs on the vtwo faces of the disk are engaged-by a corresponding pitman connected to oppositclydisposed pistons '3 contained in cylinders 1: that l. '.llli1l the engine is of the tandem type with opposed cylinders, and let. it he further supposed that the two engine cylinders operate on the two cycle system. l'nder thesiassumptions. Fig. 4 may he again referred in and ilic point '28 considered. The lii'si forward 2 stroke of the piston in Fig. 4. considered as Fig. while at the completion of'lhc sca I -c iigcr-stroke'this point has advanced to one the powcrstrokc, carries the point 2. through sixty degrees to the position shown in Fig. 5,

I Now, by trac -1;- mg out the cycle of operations through an*' while the return stroke,.wh1ch for the piston under consideration constitutes the 'compression stroke of a two-cycle engine, carries the po'int 2 8 to the one hundred and twenty degree-position shown in Fig; 6, while the,

4 next power-stroke carries the point 28 to the one hundred and-eighty degree position shown in Fig.7, and the next compression stroke carries the point 2.8 tothe two hun v half completed.- Under these conditions the point 29c0rresponding to the groove on the invisibleside. of the disk as viewed in 9 t is at the beginning of a power stroke" because of the other piston working on the other-sidegof the shaft 3 the power stroke is applied to the lower side of the disk 4. Now,

while the first engine is completing its power stroke the second engine is beginning its;-

power stroke, andv thus these two power strokes will overlap. I

Referring once more to the consideration of an engine of the four-cycle type,-let it be assumed that there are. two such disksas shown in 3 mounted upon the shaft 3, and that there are two pairs oftandem cylinders, each pair operating upon one disk upon opposite sides thereof and suitably displaced .in phase for operation, it bein understood, of course, that the phase relation of the grooves on opposite sides of each diskmay be other than thirty degrees, and that the two. disks ma also be in dephased relation.

Assume tat engine number one begins its 'power stroke in the position shown in Fig. 4,

and that engine number two begins its power stroke at the completion of the power stroke of engine number one. Also,- that engine number three begins its power stroke at the com 'letion of the power stroke of engine -num er'two, and that engine number. four begins its power stroke at the completion of the power stroke of engine number three.-

VVhen this series of operations has been completed e e number one is in position to a ainbegin its power stroke, and so the cycle 0 operations continues indefinitely; With such a four-cylinder engine the power is applied alternately above and below the shaft as viewed in the figures, but always through the samerelative arc and in immediate succession. The'shaft is therefore subjected to I the continued application of power Without intermission, so'that it may run with the same general freedom from variation of power impulses and shock and:

' tinuously applied peripherally, or in the multipolar type of .electric motor, where the power impulses are applied in rapid successionbut the same peripheral distance from the shaft, and always through short arcs.

It is not absolutely'essential for the operation of the device that the two arms, 13- 14 be of equal length, and if these arms are of unequal-length-the shape and extent-of the grooves -ma'y be correspondingly modified;-

Nor is it essential that-the grooves be shaped as heretofore described, since the pockets 1 1 ma be omitted and a simple triarcal groove, suc as shown in Fig. 10, may be employed.-

With a drive-connection such ashas been described, it will be seen that the piston of each engine .of the four-c cle type makes six] 'movemerits, three in cat: direction, for-one complete rotation of the shaft, as against two movements, one in each direction, for a simple crank connection between the piston I and the shaft. By this means, fora iven speed of the shaft, the engine piston will a e a speed of reciprocation'three times as great as the ordinary crank type ofengine. Therefore, for a given power output at the shaft the cylinder may be made approximatelyone-third the size of one having the slower piston speed. Furthermore,'- it has been demonstrated that explosive: engines having high piston speed are advanta eous over those having slow iston speed, bot because of the economical uel consumption and because of the corresponding lightness of construction, but in the larger, power units a high shaft speed is prohibited. But by our invention we provide means whereby the piston speed may be three times that of the shaft. T herefore, we are enabled to provide a high power .engine having a sufliciently low shaft speed, with all the'advantages of economy of opera-' 'tion and lightness of structure found in engines having-high piston speed.

Our improvement is particularly applicable to our complete gasolenemotor traction system, where economy of weightis of equal importance with economy of operation, and where, because. of the large power and slow shaft speed necessary an engine even of the multi-cylinder type, where the istons are directly connected'to the shaft y pitmen and cranks, would be of such'large bulk and wei ht as to be practically prohibited under the conditions of service.

e claim 2-, 1. A means for converting reciprocatory motion into rotary'm'otion, or thereverse, comprising a shaft, a rotative member fast thereon and having-a trier-cal groove formed therein and entirely surrounding the shaft,

a reciprocating member, and connections erases its meeting points with radial extensions, a. reciprocating member, and connections therefrom to the groove, engaging the latter on both sides of the shaft.

3. A means for converting reciprocatory motion into rotary motion, or the reverse, comprising a shaft, a rotative member fast thereon and having a triarcal groove entirely surrounding the shaft and formed Withfacing tongues at its upper edge, rollers in the groove and provided with peripheral grooves :engaged by the tongues, a reciprocating v2, rollers in the groove.

member, and connections therefrom to the 4. A means for converting reciprocatory motion into rotary motion, or the reverse,

comprising a shaft, a rotative member fast thereon and provided with a triarcal groove surrounding the shaft, .a reciprocating memher, and a forked connection having arms of suiiicient length to straddle the shaft at the ex treme limit of movement of the reciprocating member toward the shaft, such arms having connections engaging the groove on opposite sides of the shaft.

5. A means for converting reciprocatory motion into rotary motion, or the reverse, comprising a shaft, and a rotative member fast thereon and provided with a triarcal groove surrounding the shaft and having radial extensions at its meeting angles.

6. An explosive engine comprising a straight or unbroken drive shaft, a crank disk thereon, a cylinder, a piston therein, and a pitman connected to the crank disk on both sides of the shaft and reciprocating through an arc of less than one hundred and eighty degrees.

7. An explosive engine comprising a rotatable shaft, a plurality of cylinders and pistons, connections between the pistons and the shaft, each reciprocating through an arc of less than one hundred and eighty degrees, and means for imparting rotative movement to the shaft by thesucoessive partial rotations of the connectionsbetween the pistons and the shaft.

8. An explosive engine comprising a rot-atable shaft, a crank disk thereon having a triarcal groove surrounding said shaft, a cylinder and piston, and a pitinan between the piston'and crank disk, said pitman engaging the triarcal groove sin'iultaneously on oppositesides of the shaft.

An explosive engine comprising a rotatable shaft, a crank disk thereon provided with a triarcal groove surrounding said shaft and having radial extensions at the angles, a

i cylinder and "piston, and a pitman between the piston and crank disk, said pitinan engaging the triarcal groove simultaneously on opposite sides of the shaft.

1.0. An explosive engine comprising a cylinder, a piston therein, a rotatable shaft, a crank disk having a tria-rcal groove, and a pitman provided'with a forked end having arms of equal length straddling said shaft and engaging the triarcal groove on opposite sides of said shaft.

11. An explosive en ine comprising a plurality of cylinders antv pistons, a rotatable shaft, a pitman for each piston having a forked end extending to each side of the shaft, and guideways about the shaft engaged by the forked ends of the pitinen simultaneously on both sides of the shaft, each of said guideways being dephased in position with relation. to the next adjacent guideivay.

12. An explosive engine comprising a suitable shaft, a crank disk having guide grooves on opposite sides thereof dephased with relation one to the other, a pitman for each groove engaging the same simultaneously on opposite sides of the shaft, a piston connected to each pitman, and a corresponding cylinder receiving the piston.

, In testimony that We claim the foregoing as our own, we have hereto affixed our signa-- tures in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM C. MAYO. JOHN HOULEHAN.

Witnesses:

)LiBEL O. EAHXESTOCIC, Vi ILLIAM H. GEN 

